Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects 23.2 Updates Available – Automatic Tone Mapping, Reset Options and More

Software News

by Francesco AndreolaFebruary 20^th, 2023

Adobe has announced the February 2023 updates (23.2) for Premiere Pro and After Effects. These include an Automatic Tone Mapping feature for their non-linear editing software that should help handle mix color spaces within the same sequence. Also, After Effects gets native OpenColorIO and ACES integration.

Only a little over two months ago, Adobe launched new updates for Premiere Pro and After Effects with version 23.1 which introduced support for footage shot on RED’s flagship studio-oriented camera, the V-RAPTOR XL, along with other minor enhancements.

The company then recently launched an interesting text-based editing tool for Premiere Pro, which is currently in its Beta testing phase and is now introducing the latest official release (23.2) of its video-oriented software. Let’s take a closer look!

Adobe Premiere Pro 23.2: automatic tone mapping

Along with some bug fixes, Premiere Pro 23.2 gets a new Automatic Tone Mapping function that is touted to be a helpful tool when dealing with mixed footage and different color spaces within the same timeline. In particular, this can help avoid clipped highlights when importing HLG footage shot on iPhone or other HDR media into the same Rec.709 sequence.

According to Adobe, this function is compatible with the following footage types:

• iPhone HLG
• Log video (such as S-Log, Canon Log, V-Log)
• Other HDR formats (such as HLG)

This new option, which is active by default, can be toggled off by going into the Sequence Settings. Also, for the software to correctly map Log footage, the Auto Detect Log Video Color Space option should be enabled under the General preferences.

Premiere Pro 23.2: other improvements

When working on a collaborative project offline, Premiere Pro saves your progress locally and, once the internet is back, now gives you the option to share your work with your teammates as a new sequence. This is useful to prevent conflicts when working on team projects.

Another nice little addition is a new Reset Options panel, which can be accessed by pressing and holding any modifier key (Cmd/Ctrl, Opt/Alt, or Shift). It basically collects some pre-existing troubleshooting and maintenance tools under the same roof and allows one to automate tasks.

For example, you can now ask Premiere Pro to perform any of the following actions upon launch:

• Reset app preferences
• Clear media chase files
• Reset plugin loading cache
• Disable third-party plugins

Lastly, the existing Speech to Text function, which can greatly speed up the process of creating captions, now supports 3 new languages – Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish – for a total of 16 detectable idioms.

After Effects 23.2: color management update

This round of updates doesn’t sound that exciting for After Effects users. The only new feature is added support for the OpenColorIO (OCIO) color management engine, which includes the ability to natively exploit the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) in After Effects.

Price and availability

Premiere Pro and After Effects 23.2 are now available to download from the Abobe Creative Cloud desktop app. If you already have an active Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, the update is free. Instead, if you’re new to Premiere Pro and After Effects, you can purchase a 1-year plan from B&H for $239.88.

As a rule of thumb, keep in mind that it’s always a good idea to avoid updating the software if you’re in the midst of a project.

For more information, please visit Adobe’s website (Premiere Pro / After Effects).

What do you think of the new features in Premiere Pro and After Effects 23.2? Have you ever had any issues importing iPhone HLG footage in your sequence? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!